High above the Deserted Island, Borsalino's figure wildly refracted between countless mirrors of light.
Hundreds of golden afterimages assailed from all directions, each carrying terrifying power propelled by light speed.
Lieutenant Gern's Observation Haki was maxed out, but Borsalino's speed was already approaching its limit.
The trajectory of light-speed movement blurred into golden lines in his perception, making it impossible to lock onto his true body!
"What a bother..." Lieutenant Gern, who had already taken over ten hits, narrowed his pupils, and the blade of black blade eight desolations trembled slightly.
The next moment, his eyes suddenly turned fierce.
"Since I can't find him..." Lieutenant Gern opened the five fingers of his right hand and pressed them against the air in front of him, "Then, I'll destroy everything!!"
"Heaven Quake: Spatial Collapse!"
"Boom—Crack!!" Centered on Lieutenant Gern, the spatial structure within a thousand-meter radius suddenly twisted!
The ground cracked like fragile glass, countless spiderweb-like fissures spread wildly, and rocks, soil, and even space disintegrated into dust amidst the high-frequency vibrations.
The entire Deserted Island trembled violently, and the aftershocks stirred up giant waves dozens of meters high on the sea surface, causing the deck of the observation Marine ship to tilt to nearly 45 degrees!
"Steady the rudder!"
"Is this a natural disaster?!" The soldiers fearfully gripped the railings, watching with wide eyes as the Deserted Island's surface shattered like biscuits, floated, and then turned to dust in the shockwaves.
In an instant, space seemed to be crumpled by an invisible hand, and light refracted into bizarre rainbow-colored ripples in the distorted air.
On the main ship, Kong's cape flapped loudly in the air currents, and a rare trace of shock flashed in his eyes: "This destructive power..."
"It has already far surpassed Kuzan and the other two," Sengoku said with a solemn expression, having experienced Lieutenant Gern's destructive power firsthand for the first time.
One must know that he, who was responsible for containing Whitebeard, had faced Whitebeard before.
But Whitebeard couldn't achieve such precise and shapable vibrations!
Zephyr stared intently at the battlefield, his sunglasses reflecting the fractured sky: "That kid Borsalino..."
"Oh, is he shaken to the sky by Lieutenant Gern?" Garp squinted his eyes.
...
On the Deserted Island, amidst the swirling dust, Lieutenant Gern stood up, breathing heavily.
Spatial Collapse had consumed a lot of his stamina, but Borsalino's figure was still nowhere in sight.
"Where did he hide..." Lieutenant Gern gripped his Black Blade.
Suddenly, a flicker of golden light flashed in the reflection of his eyes.
"Behind!"
"Too late, yo~" Borsalino's voice sounded right next to his ear.
"Bang!!" A light-speed kick heavily struck Lieutenant Gern's back, sending him flying like a cannonball, crashing through three rock mountains before finally stopping, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth!
"Whoosh—" A commotion erupted in the observation stands.
"Damn it! Under such terrifying circumstances just now..." Onigumo's sword dropped to the ground again.
"Colonel Borsalino... wasn't injured?!"
As the dust settled, Borsalino's body materialized on a broken rock, his tattered suit revealing an unblemished physique beneath.
"What terrifying vibrations," he said, slowly dusting off his shoulder, "If I had been a step slower, I would have been shattered."
On the main ship, Kong took a deep breath: "Lieutenant Gern's destructive power is indeed terrifying, but Borsalino's defense and speed..."
"Are the most troublesome among the three," Zephyr, who had taught Borsalino, said in a deep voice, "And also the strongest among the three."
Sengoku pushed up his glasses: "And that guy, he probably wants to end the battle..."
As if to confirm Sengoku's words, Borsalino, high in the sky, suddenly reined in his smile.
"Had enough fun?" He slowly raised his right hand, his index finger pointed at Lieutenant Gern in the distant ruins, and flashes of light covered his fingertip like a tide.
"This next move... will be very fast, yo." Golden light condensed into a point of scorching white at his fingertip, and the air twisted from the high temperature.
Gion, watching from the sidelines, suddenly stood up: "Lieutenant Gern..."
"Whoosh!" An extremely slender beam of light pierced through the sky, vaporizing even dust in its path.
Lieutenant Gern had just looked up when the golden light reached his brow!
"Clang!!" In the nick of time, black blade eight desolations was held horizontally in front, and the black Haki lightning fiercely collided with the golden light.
But the impact of the light beam still pushed Lieutenant Gern back violently, his feet plowing two charred furrows in the rock!
"It's not over yet~" Borsalino's voice came from all directions.
Lieutenant Gern suddenly looked up—ten figures appeared simultaneously in the sky, each with a concentrated star-piercing light beam at their fingertips!
"Ten consecutive shots." All ten Borsalinos tilted their heads simultaneously, "Can you block them?"
In an instant, ten scorching white light beams intertwined into a web of destruction, and the Deserted Island completely disintegrated amidst the roar.
Lieutenant Gern's figure was submerged in the blinding golden light, and the Marines in the observation stands held their breath.
However...
"Buzz!" A wave of air suddenly erupted, forcibly creating a domain within the light beam storm.
Lieutenant Gern was covered in thick Armament Haki, with black blade eight desolations held horizontally in front of him.
Although the impact of the light beams pushed him back, his feet plowing charred furrows in the ground, his eyes grew even sharper.
"Senior Borsalino..." Lieutenant Gern's eyes were calm, "Can your light be even faster?"
The next second, his figure suddenly vanished!
"Quake Flash: Extreme Speed!" A high-frequency vibrating particle stream enveloped his body, approaching at near-teleportation speed.
Borsalino's pupils constricted. Not wanting to be outdistanced, he instantly transformed into photons and ascended, and then...
It was exactly what Lieutenant Gern wanted!
"Heaven Quake: Star Ring!" Lieutenant Gern suddenly swung his blade, and a circular shockwave, centered on him, boomed outwards!
Wherever the shockwave passed, the air was instantly evacuated, clouds were vibrated into nothingness, and even light temporarily stagnated in the distorted space.
The seawater around the Deserted Island was shaken into giant waves dozens of meters high, forming a siege around the island.
And the sky above... briefly formed a vacuum zone!
Although light speed cannot be stopped, Lieutenant Gern didn't need to intercept light, only Borsalino.
"Hmm?" As expected, the sudden difficulty in breathing caused Borsalino, who was moving, to instinctively slow down.
His photonized body slightly lagged in the vacuum, forcing his speed to decrease.
"Got you." Lieutenant Gern's voice was cold and calm.
On the blade of black blade eight desolations, Armament Haki and vibrating particles slowly intertwined.
But this time, the vibrating particles had no violent high-frequency tremors; instead, they were strangely calm.
Borsalino's Observation Haki wildly warned him, but he couldn't dodge immediately.
So he crossed his arms, covered them with Armament Haki, and chose to defend head-on.
In an instant, as the blade flashed through the air, there were no violent shockwaves, no spatial fragmentation, only a low hum, almost inaudible.
In a flash, the blade light streaked past!
"Hmm?" Borsalino touched himself, feeling a bit bewildered.
After all, Lieutenant Gern's Devil Fruit had been full of powerful destructive force from the beginning, but now nothing had happened, and there was no reaction of space breaking.
Not only was Borsalino confused, but all the observing Marines were also utterly bewildered!!
"Hey, did Gern-kun decide to surrender?" Borsalino smiled slightly.
But Lieutenant Gern didn't answer. Instead, he slowly sheathed black blade eight desolations, performing a blade flourish.
At the same time, a thought flashed through his mind, a saying from his old physics teacher:
Molecular motion is also vibration... But if vibration is extremely suppressed or friction occurs, can two extreme temperatures be generated?
According to the third law of thermodynamics, absolute zero cannot be reached through a finite number of steps; it can only be approached infinitely.
However, I apologize! The world of One Piece is... idealistic!!
And I, who can control all vibrations and create vibrating particles...
Only need to be precise, so precise as to stop vibrations (stopping all molecular motion around Borsalino).
Then, at the moment of extreme suppression, all molecular motion in that space almost ceases.
Losing kinetic energy means no micro-thermal energy can be produced, so...
The moisture in the air instantly condensed into ice, and the temperature plummeted to -273.15°C...
"Although it's only for an instant, and this extremely subtle control will consume a lot of my stamina, but..."
Lieutenant Gern sneered, a trace of cold air appearing on the blade of black blade eight desolations, "I succeeded..."
At this moment, Borsalino also noticed something was wrong, "Hey, hey, hey! What is this..."
Before he could finish his sentence, spiderweb-like cracks appeared around Borsalino's body.
But there was no pain; instead, starting from his fingertips, a layer of crystalline frost rapidly covered him, spreading over his entire body in the blink of an eye!
"Crack..." The same sound of breaking, but it wasn't the breaking of space, but the crisp and cold sound of ice crystals condensing.
"Vibration Lock: Absolute Zero!!!!"
...
【Salty Fish's note: According to low-temperature physics, by reducing the system's vibration frequency (e.g., slowing down, stopping molecular motion),
Or rather, thermodynamic processes (e.g., the temperature of the Mera Mera no Mi rising to the extreme), extreme low temperatures can be achieved!
When approaching absolute zero, lattice vibrations (phonons) tend to zero, and the system's internal energy is minimal.
Under the existing third law of thermodynamics, absolute zero cannot be reached through a finite number of steps, but we are in the world of One Piece, and the world of One Piece is an idealistic world!】